NPD TC Alter Ego

[Invin]

I did a quick unboxing and improv video last night: http://youtu.be/lrEEOqTWZfs" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

It's an alternate version of the TC Flashback delay with a couple different presets, the Echorec and Deluxe Memory Man. It used to be an exclusive from Pro Guitar Shop in the US, but I believe they launched it in the UK recently too.

A lot of people complain that the Echorec setting has too much modulation and is unusable, but I found the trick is to set the time to 1/4 + 1/8 notes (bottom setting on the small switch at the top). The short bursts don't get out of control and it results in some pretty sweet ambience.

Some other notes from my first night of jamming with it:

- The strum tempo (hold the footswitch down and strum to set the speed) is genius. It worked perfectly from the first try and is incredibly handy. I really prefer it to tapping.

- 1/4 + 1/8 repeats is by far my favourite setting at this point. The rhythms you can create feel effortless.

- I tried the buffered mode where sound continues to decay after switching off, but ended up going back to true-bypass mode. If you accidentally set the regen too high and it starts self-oscillating, switching the pedal off won't stop it. I made that mistake and my amp got so loud I thought it was going to explode before I switched it to standby to stop it.

- The sound quality in every setting seems absolutely top notch. Analog and tape sound incredibly warm and natural, the 2290 is crystal clear, the Deluxe Memory Man is dark and lovely, right on down the list everything exceeded my expectations.

I've never been a big delay guy and actually went without one for a long time. I found them to be fun toys but hated always having to adjust the knobs to make it work with the song. This one feels so natural and user-friendly with the strum tempo that I've found it easy to work into all kinds of music. All in all, I'm extremely happy with it and look forward to exploring the settings further.

[Jondog]

Its a cool pedal. The echorec setting is supposed to emulate an old worn unit I think I heard which os why it has alot of modulation.

[Invin]

Yep, a lot of people just complain they went too over the top with it and that it needs a control to reduce the modulation when desired. It would be nice, but there's tons of other delays in there without modulation, so really not a huge deal to me. I guess if I were a huge delay buff that was obsessed with emulating a pristine Echorec it'd bother me, but I'm just an average joe delay noob.

[apocalypsedude]

I have one too, love it, I mainly stick to the DMM setting. Only got to use it in a jam situation once, but the DMM setting sits REALLY nice in a band mix. I do wish that the modulation wasn't so over the top on the Echorec setting, but they nailed it on the DMM setting, I swear there is a very subtle modulation going on there. The simple looper is also cool, though I think it can only loop 20 seconds, its useful for soloing over top of a riff. I also really like the Tube Echo toneprint, you should try that one. Did you also know that you can download the TC Tri chorus on the toneprint slot, and turn the pedal into a chorus ( not that I use chorus that much but cool to have).

The toneprint app does seem to have some bugs though, it would work fine on my iPhone, then stop working. This would require a delete and reload of the app. Had to do this whenever I wanted to download a new toneprint on the pedal, but I've settled on the DMM setting almost exclusively now.

[Invin]

I have one too, love it, I mainly stick to the DMM setting. Only got to use it in a jam situation once, but the DMM setting sits REALLY nice in a band mix. I do wish that the modulation wasn't so over the top on the Echorec setting, but they nailed it on the DMM setting, I swear there is a very subtle modulation going on there. The simple looper is also cool, though I think it can only loop 20 seconds, its useful for soloing over top of a riff. I also really like the Tube Echo toneprint, you should try that one. Did you also know that you can download the TC Tri chorus on the toneprint slot, and turn the pedal into a chorus ( not that I use chorus that much but cool to have).

The toneprint app does seem to have some bugs though, it would work fine on my iPhone, then stop working. This would require a delete and reload of the app. Had to do this whenever I wanted to download a new toneprint on the pedal, but I've settled on the DMM setting almost exclusively now.

I didn't know about that chorus tone print! Thanks for the tip; I'll definitely try that. I've never found a need for a chorus pedal but this will be a good way to try it out.

[Invin]

Just tried that tri-chorus tone print. So cool! I was getting all these fuzz-like single note tones on the dirty channel that made me want to play bluesy licks. This pedal has opened up all kinds of new territory for me.

[jasondunringill]

I have one too, love it, I mainly stick to the DMM setting. Only got to use it in a jam situation once, but the DMM setting sits REALLY nice in a band mix. I do wish that the modulation wasn't so over the top on the Echorec setting, but they nailed it on the DMM setting, I swear there is a very subtle modulation going on there. The simple looper is also cool, though I think it can only loop 20 seconds, its useful for soloing over top of a riff. I also really like the Tube Echo toneprint, you should try that one. Did you also know that you can download the TC Tri chorus on the toneprint slot, and turn the pedal into a chorus ( not that I use chorus that much but cool to have).

The toneprint app does seem to have some bugs though, it would work fine on my iPhone, then stop working. This would require a delete and reload of the app. Had to do this whenever I wanted to download a new toneprint on the pedal, but I've settled on the DMM setting almost exclusively now.

Thanks for that, just had a look and its available for the flashback too. Just took my chorus pedal off the 'board as I don't use it much and needed space but did wish I had room to keep it just in case, so it's good to still have the option of chorus if required. Not tried it yet, look forward to that later

[myboss57]

Sounds pretty good man. I'm shopping for a reverb pedal still, might have to pick up a delay now too!

[Invin]

I've been having some weird issues with the toneprint setting the past couple days. I have the tri-chorus installed, but when I switch to toneprint it's just a delay. After some fiddling with the dials it'll eventually "remember" the chorus toneprint and work fine. It's annoying though not being able to count on it being there when I switch to it.

I also noticed when I had it hooked up to my computer the mode knob makes a clicking on the last three settings (reverse, loop, toneprint) sometimes like it's catching on something inside. It's not difficult to turn or stuck, but the sound worries me. The reverse and loop never give me trouble, just the toneprint. I thought the clicking and toneprint unreliability might be related, but sometimes fiddling with the other dials will fix it too, so I'll have to keep testing and see if I can find a consistent solution. I saw the inside of the pedal when I was switching between buffered and true bypass, and it's completely packed under a big solid panel, so I'm not eager to take all that off to get a look at the inside of the dials.

[Invin]

I think I figured out what causes the toneprint issue and how to fix it when it happens. It seems to be related to the strum tempo feature. Whenever I use it, the next time I go to the toneprint it'll just be a delay. Switching back to one of the other settings and adjusting the tempo with the dial seems to make the toneprint function as it should again. After some reading around I found other people have said that using strum tempo wipes your previous tempo settings in each mode, and I guess that must also mess up the toneprint. Kind of annoying, though it's not like I'm going to be bending down to change modes mid song anyway so I can deal with it now that I know what to do.